Letter to the editor: We are still here, says Gravenhurst polio survivor

OpinionOct 13, 2017Gravenhurst Banner

October is Polio Awareness Month. A slogan printed in the Fall 2009 PoliOCanada newsletter, printed by the March of Dimes, is ‘WE ARE STILL HERE’. Indeed, we polio survivors are still here.

I was delighted to learn that the Gravenhurst Rotary Club, as well as 41 other Rotary Clubs in their district and many other clubs throughout Canada, will be walking in their respective towns on Oct. 24 in honour of World Polio Day and to raise awareness of Rotary’s END POLIO NOW campaign. They will be recognizable by their red ponchos, and will be accompanied by family and friends.

I am a polio survivor from 1951. I have reached out to other polio survivors and am in contact with approximately 25 of them in the Simcoe-Muskoka area. We have been meeting every October for the past five years to share our polio-related health issues and learn more about Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS) and how to deal with it.

My sister, Mary Léger, and I have developed a presentation on polio, the main cause of polio epidemics, the late effects of polio (also known as PPS), and why PPS is occurring in at least 25 per cent of polio victims decades after we were infected. We keep our information current and are willing to present to any interested organizations free of charge. This presentation was well received by the Probus Clubs of Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, and the Gravenhurst and Markdale Rotary clubs. We also shared our information with two phys. ed. and health classes at a Barrie high school to students who had never heard of polio, and we were able to answer many of their questions.

I encourage anyone wanting more information about this disease that is still endemic in three countries of the world to contact me personally at candpflavell@sympatio.ca or 705-687-7355.

Sincerely,

Cliff Flavell

Gravenhurst

Letter to the editor: We are still here, says Gravenhurst polio survivor

OpinionOct 13, 2017Gravenhurst Banner

October is Polio Awareness Month. A slogan printed in the Fall 2009 PoliOCanada newsletter, printed by the March of Dimes, is ‘WE ARE STILL HERE’. Indeed, we polio survivors are still here.

I was delighted to learn that the Gravenhurst Rotary Club, as well as 41 other Rotary Clubs in their district and many other clubs throughout Canada, will be walking in their respective towns on Oct. 24 in honour of World Polio Day and to raise awareness of Rotary’s END POLIO NOW campaign. They will be recognizable by their red ponchos, and will be accompanied by family and friends.

I am a polio survivor from 1951. I have reached out to other polio survivors and am in contact with approximately 25 of them in the Simcoe-Muskoka area. We have been meeting every October for the past five years to share our polio-related health issues and learn more about Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS) and how to deal with it.

My sister, Mary Léger, and I have developed a presentation on polio, the main cause of polio epidemics, the late effects of polio (also known as PPS), and why PPS is occurring in at least 25 per cent of polio victims decades after we were infected. We keep our information current and are willing to present to any interested organizations free of charge. This presentation was well received by the Probus Clubs of Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, and the Gravenhurst and Markdale Rotary clubs. We also shared our information with two phys. ed. and health classes at a Barrie high school to students who had never heard of polio, and we were able to answer many of their questions.

I encourage anyone wanting more information about this disease that is still endemic in three countries of the world to contact me personally at candpflavell@sympatio.ca or 705-687-7355.

Sincerely,

Cliff Flavell

Gravenhurst

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Letter to the editor: We are still here, says Gravenhurst polio survivor

OpinionOct 13, 2017Gravenhurst Banner

October is Polio Awareness Month. A slogan printed in the Fall 2009 PoliOCanada newsletter, printed by the March of Dimes, is ‘WE ARE STILL HERE’. Indeed, we polio survivors are still here.

I was delighted to learn that the Gravenhurst Rotary Club, as well as 41 other Rotary Clubs in their district and many other clubs throughout Canada, will be walking in their respective towns on Oct. 24 in honour of World Polio Day and to raise awareness of Rotary’s END POLIO NOW campaign. They will be recognizable by their red ponchos, and will be accompanied by family and friends.

I am a polio survivor from 1951. I have reached out to other polio survivors and am in contact with approximately 25 of them in the Simcoe-Muskoka area. We have been meeting every October for the past five years to share our polio-related health issues and learn more about Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS) and how to deal with it.

My sister, Mary Léger, and I have developed a presentation on polio, the main cause of polio epidemics, the late effects of polio (also known as PPS), and why PPS is occurring in at least 25 per cent of polio victims decades after we were infected. We keep our information current and are willing to present to any interested organizations free of charge. This presentation was well received by the Probus Clubs of Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, and the Gravenhurst and Markdale Rotary clubs. We also shared our information with two phys. ed. and health classes at a Barrie high school to students who had never heard of polio, and we were able to answer many of their questions.

I encourage anyone wanting more information about this disease that is still endemic in three countries of the world to contact me personally at candpflavell@sympatio.ca or 705-687-7355.